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SPOKANE, Wash. — Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin seems to have switched colleges at least six times in six years.

The transfers included two stints at the University of Idaho before Palin graduated from there in 1987 with a degree in journalism.

Federal privacy laws prohibit the schools from disclosing her grades, and none of the schools contacted by The Associated Press could say why she transferred. There’s no indication any were contacted as part of the background investigation of Palin by presidential candidate John McCain’s campaign.

One of the schools she attended was North Idaho College. The school’s alumni association notified her in June that she’d been picked to be the recipient of its 2008-2009 Distinguished Alumni of the Year Award.

The University of Idaho is taking advantage of Palin’s nomination. A prominent photograph of her is featured on the school’s Web site.

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CINDY MCCAIN: Thank you. Thank you.

Before I begin, I would like to introduce you for the seven reasons that John and I are so happy as a family. Starting on this end, this is Meghan McCain, Andy McCain, Jimmy McCain, Jack McCain, Bridget McCain, Doug McCain, and Sidney McCain. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

John and I are so pleased and so happy to have them here with us tonight. Nothing has made me happier or more fulfilled in my life than being a mother.

But while John and I take great joy in having been able to spend time together this week as a family, our hearts go out to the thousands of families who have had to leave their homes, once again, due to devastating weather.

It’s not — it’s not our natural instinct to rally to them, to lift them up with our prayers, to come to their aid. It’s also our duty as a country.

That duty is what brings me before you tonight, and it’s a much larger, more important than John or me or any of us. It’s the work of this great country calling us together, and there’s no greater duty than that, no more essential task for our generation right now.

That’s been very much on my mind these last few months as I’ve traveled our country. Each day, after the bands packed up, and the speeches were done, and the camera lights darkened, I always came back to how blessed and honored I was to be a part of our national conversation.

And in these times, when so many of our fellow Americans face difficult situations, what I saw moved me deeply: Families worried about losing their homes. Towns deserted by industries once at their center. Mothers with no choice but to send their children to unsafe and underperforming schools.

But I have also seen the resilience of the American people. I’ve heard stirring stories of neighbor helping neighbor, cities on one end of the country offering help to fellow citizens on the other.

Despite our challenges, our hearts are still alive with hope and belief in the individual ability to make things right, if only the federal government would get itself under control and out of our way.

(APPLAUSE)

And so tonight is about renewing our commitment to one another, because this campaign is not about us. It’s about our special and exceptional country. And this convention celebrates a special and exceptional Republican Party. The hand we feel on our shoulder belongs to Abraham Lincoln. Our country was born…

(APPLAUSE)

Our country was — our country was born amidst the struggle for freedom, and our party arose from a great battle for human rights, dignity, and equality for all people.

We give way to no one and no other party in that cause.

(APPLAUSE)

From its very birth, our party has been grounded in the notion of service, community, self-reliance, and it’s all tempered by a uniquely American faith in and compassion for each other’s neighbors. A helping hand and friendly support has always been our way.

It’s no surprise that Americans are the most generous people in history.

(APPLAUSE)

That generosity of spirit is in our national DNA. It’s our way of doing things. It’s how we view the world.

I was taught that Americans can look at the world and ask either what do other countries think of us or we can look at ourselves and ask, what would our forefathers make of us and what will our children say of us?

That’s a big challenge. In living up to it, we know the security and the prosperity of our nation is about a lot more than politics. It also depends on a personal commitment, a sense of history, and a clear view of the future.

I know of no one who better defines how to do that, whose life is a better example of how to go about that than the man I love, whom I’ve shared almost 30 years of my life, my husband, John McCain.

(APPLAUSE)

From the beginning of time, no matter how accomplished in other fields, women have always sought a husband with an eye to what kind of father that man would be. Well, I hit a home run with John McCain. I got…

(APPLAUSE)

I got the most marvelous husband, and friend, and confidant, a source of strength and inspiration, and also the best father you could ever imagine.

(APPLAUSE)

In that most sacred role, he brought to our children his great personal character, his life-long example of honesty, and his steadfast devotion to honor. He has shown the value of self-sacrifice by daily example and, above all, John showers us with unconditional love and support every family dreams of.

I know what his children say of him. And his courageous service to America in war and peace leaves no doubt what our forefathers would make of him.

(APPLAUSE)

It’s these virtues of character that led him to this campaign, to this moment. John McCain is a steadfast man who will not break with our heritage, no matter how demanding or dangerous the challenges at home or abroad.

And let’s not be confused: These are perilous times, not just for America, but for freedom itself. It’s going to take someone of unusual strength and character, someone exactly like my husband, to lead us through the reefs and currents that lie ahead.

I know John. You can trust his hand at the wheel.

But you know something? What I’ve always thought, it’s a good idea to have a woman’s hand on the wheel, as well.

(APPLAUSE)

So how about that Governor Sarah Palin?

(APPLAUSE)

John has picked — John has picked a reform-minded, hockey- momming, basketball-shooting, moose-hunting, salmon-fishing, pistol- packing mother of five for vice president.

(APPLAUSE)

MCCAIN: And as a fellow hockey mom myself and a Western conservative mother, I couldn’t be prouder that John has shaken things up, as he usually does.

(APPLAUSE)

No one can get the job done alone. And that’s why I’m glad John will have Governor Palin by his side. We all to have work together, build consensus, the way John has done all of his life.

His leadership inspires, and empowers, and places ultimate success in all of our hands. Ronald Reagan was fond of saying, “With freedom goes responsibility, a responsibility that can only be met by the individual himself.”

I have been witness to great service and sacrifice, to lives lived with humility and grace. In World War II, my father’s B-17 was shot down. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. But he was quiet about that, never claimed to have done more than his small share, just like my husband.

I think John was a hero in Vietnam.

(APPLAUSE)

But you know something? John just thinks it was his turn.

Our son, Jack, will graduate from the United States Naval Academy next year, fourth generation, ready to do his service.

(APPLAUSE)

And our son, Jimmy, a lance corporal in the Marine Corps, served honorably in Iraq…

(APPLAUSE)

Jimmy served honorably in Iraq, as hundreds of thousands of other young men and women just like him are doing for America and freedom everywhere.

The stakes were never more clear to me than the morning I watched my son, Jimmy, strap on his weapons and board a bus headed for harm’s way. I was born and raised in the American West, and I will always see the world through the prism of its values.

My father was a true Western gentleman. He rose from hardscrabble roots to realize the American dream. With only a few borrowed dollars in his pocket, and a strong back and a can-do spirit, he built a great life for his family.

His handshake was his solemn oath. He looked you straight in the eye and always believed the best of you, unless you gave him good cause not to.

Modest and good-natured, he had deep roots in our American soil. He taught me life is not just about you; it’s also about nurturing the next generation, preparing a better world for all of our children and helping them find the right way up.

We all come to that knowledge in different ways. For me, the great moment of clarity was when I became a mother. Something changed in me. I would never see my obligations the same way again.

It was after that I was walking through the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh, surrounded by terrible poverty and the devastation of a cyclone. All around me were the children and the desperate faces of their mothers. The pain was overwhelming, and I felt helpless.

But then I visited an orphanage begun by Mother Teresa, and two very sick little girls captured my heart. There was something I could do. I could take them home, and so I did.

(APPLAUSE)

Today, both of those little girls are healthy and happy. And one of them you just met tonight: our beautiful daughter, Bridget.

Much is expected of a country as blessed as America, and our people are at work all over the globe making it a better planet, doing their part. It was my privilege to work with the men and women of the American Voluntary Medical Teams in places like Zaire, Micronesia, Vietnam, watching as they relieved whole towns from disease and rescued countless children from sickness.

The reward for sharing in that work is truly indescribable. To see a child rescued from a life in the shadows by Operation Smile is to witness and share a joy that is life-changing.

And the challenges go on. I just returned from the Republic of Georgia, where HALO Trust, an organizing — an organization specializing in the clearing of the debris of war, are rescuing innocent victims from landmines and missiles.

Sometimes the courage of others leaves me breathless. I only need to speak the word “Rwanda,” and the images it conjures up are beyond description.

In my box tonight is Ernestine, a woman, a friend, a mother like myself, whom I met in Kigali. She suffered unimaginable horrors and was made to watch appalling havoc wreaked by her family.

(APPLAUSE)

Yet, as the violence in her country subsides, she doesn’t seek retribution. Instead, she offers love and seeks reconciliation for her people. She says simply, “It’s time to move on for me and my country.”

Ernestine, please stand up.

(APPLAUSE)

Ernestine, your courage is humbling. Your forgiveness is healing. You are my hero.

(APPLAUSE)

Forgiveness is not just a personal issue. It’s why John led the efforts to normalize relations with Vietnam, to retrieve the remains of our MIAs, to bring closure to both sides. That’s leadership, national leadership. And it’s leading by example.

(APPLAUSE)

The presidential contest will begin in earnest when this convention closes. If Americans want straight talk and plain truth, they should take a good close look at John McCain.

(APPLAUSE)

A man tested and true, who never wavered in his devotion to our country, a man who served in Washington without ever becoming a Washington insider, and who always speaks the truth, no matter what the cost, a man of judgment and character, a loyal and loving and true husband, and a magnificent father.

This is a good man, a worthy man. I know. I have loved him with all my heart for almost 30 years, and I humbly recommend him to you tonight for nominee for the next president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

I am so grateful — I am so grateful to have had the chance to speak with you tonight and for the honor that you are about to grant my husband and, indeed, our entire family.

I promise you, I will work every day to help John strengthen our freedom and to serve this great country with the honor and dignity and the love it deserves from each and every generation it blesses.

May God bless all of you in America, the citizens of the Gulf Coast, and all the sons and daughters serving this great country around the world tonight.

Thank you.

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — Two leading contenders for John McCain’s vice-presidential running mate took turns on the last night of the GOP convention comparing McCain’s deeds to Barack Obama’s words.

Speaking ahead of McCain acceptance of the party’s nomination for the presidency, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge borrowed from the Republican playbook to cast Obama as a talented speaker without substance and McCain as a reformer who delivers on his promises.

“Barack Obama gives a good speech. But the best sermons aren’t preached, they’re lived,” Pawlenty said. “John McCain’s whole life is a testimony to service, duty, courage and common sense. John McCain has walked the walk and he has always put our country first.”

Pawlenty was among the finalists in the vice presidential sweepstakes and widely thought to be the choice in in the hours before McCain announced he picked Palin.

In his speech, Pawlenty called McCain tough but compassionate, someone who “understands the concerns of everyday Americans like you and me.

“What I like to call ‘Sam’s Club Republicans.’” he said.

“In this time, we don’t need a president who can just read a poll or momentarily thrill a crowd,” he continued. “We don’t need rhetoric or empty promises. We need a president who has the integrity and courage to make the tough choices so America will be stronger and safer.”

Drawing sharp distinctions between McCain and Obama, Ridge called McCain a “consensus builder, a reformer — the patriot who always puts his country first.”

“Now more than ever we need a leader who fits the times — not a candidate who merely thinks it’s his time to lead,” Ridge said to applause. “For the consideration before us is not about who can take a 3 a.m. call. It’s about who has answered the call throughout his entire life.”

That statement ignited a standing ovation and near the end of his speech, the crowd broke into a chant of, “That’s John McCain! That’s John McCain! That’s John McCain!”

“It’s not about building a record. It’s about having one,” he continued. “It’s not about talking pretty. It’s about talking straight. The challenge of our time is not simply to change. The challenge of our time is to leave nothing to chance.”

Senate Minority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina also were on the schedule Thursday to warm the crowd up for McCain’s acceptance speech.

Ridge became the first director of the Office of Homeland Security shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. McCain’s consideration of Ridge for running mate drew heated opposition from social conservatives
because of Ridge’s support for abortion rights.

Friends for 26 years, Ridge noted that he and McCain both served in Vietnam and were elected to Congress in 1982.

Ridge recalled McCain’s response last summer when he offered him encouragement after his presidential campaign reached the brink of collapse.

“He looked at me and said, ‘Tom, you and I both know I’ve been through worse.’”

McCain then told him how he thought he could win.

“Where some people see adversity, John McCain accepts a challenge,” he said. “Where some people see a crisis, John McCain creates an opportunity. Where some people see defeat, John McCain pursues victory.”

A highly partisan tone was set on Wednesday by McCain’s rivals during the primaries, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Palin raised the stakes in her acceptance speech later that night when she unleashed a barrage of slashing attacks on Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden, while propping up McCain as the maverick who knows how to turn Washington on its head.

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MINNEAPOLIS — For 50 years Lula Bridges, a black resident of Macon County, Ala., was a Democrat. But in March, she switched political sides when she realized no social or economic progress had been made in her hometown, a heavily black Democratic stronghold that suffers from high rates of poverty.

“At that moment, I said I’m coming out of the closet,” she said.

Bridges joined blacks from across the country at a Thursday reception linked to the GOP convention. There, guests shared their Republican pride and their mixed emotions about Barack Obama’s historic candidacy.

“I’m priud to say that I like Barack Obama,” said DJ Jordan, a black delegate. “I’m very proud that we have an African American nominee. I think he’s a charismatic brother but I can’t vote for him.” About 20 black delegates and donors at the reception cheered and one responded, “Amen.”

CJ Jordan, DJ’s cousin and the national coordinator of African American Coalitions for McCain, organized the reception. CJ Jordan said she is aiming to get at least 5 percent of the black vote for McCain in November.

“I know that in this election year, it’s going to be hard,” she said, explaining that people tend to vote on emotion. “But the one thing I do understand is bare-knuckles politics. I’m not afraid to go into my community. I know people call us an oxymoron  when we say that we are black Republicans.”

McCain has national coordinators for other racial and ethnic groups, including Hispanics, Asian and Pacific Americans, Irish Americans, and Jewish Americans. But McCain faces his biggest challenge in reaching a black electorate as a result of Obama’s candidacy. Obama drew more than 90 percent of the black vote in the primaries.

Despite facing the first black presidential nominee of a major party, McCain has not forsaken pursuit of the black vote.  He addressed the NAACP in July, promising to reform the education system, offer school choice and expand opportunities for minorities.

In April, during a tour of heavily black areas of the South, McCain made a campaign stop in Memphis where he stood on the balcony of the hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and apologized for opposing a federal holiday for King years ago.

While it is unlikely to be enough to overcome the excitement that many blacks feel about Obama’s shot at winning the White House, Republican minorities at the reception explained why they support the party.

“I was tired of the Democratic rhetoric,” said Gerald Boyd Sr., who became a Republican in 1988. “I thought it was time for a change.”

Boyd Sr. and his son, Gerald Boyd Jr., own a consulting group for federal agencies. They claim Democrats don’t have an agenda for small businesses.

“I saw the benefits of being a small business owner and a Republican,” said the younger Boyd, who switched parties in 2000.

“When you have opportunities through small business, then you can make contributions to society,” the elder Boyd added.

Boyd Sr.  acknowledged that he’s been given grief by friends and family for his political affiliation, but he remains steadfast.

“You’re not obligated to be Democrat because you’re black,” he said.

Boyd admitted that he would be proud of Obama if he won the election but added he won’t vote for him.

“I don’t feel anything for him personally,” he said. “I don’t think he brings anything for me. He never owned a business.”

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — Celebrity sightings are few and far between but some of the recognizable stars like Kelsey Grammar, Jon Voight, Stephen Baldwin, Pat Boone, Ben Stein and Elizabeth Hasselbeck were among the B-listers and below swarmed by Republican convention-goers this week.

Among the performers who offered their services to the convention were Latin recording artist and Reggaeton superstar Daddy Yankee and country singers Cowboy Troy, John Rich and Gretchen Wilson.

Though the election is still two months away, it’s pretty clear which candidate has secured the Hollywood superstar vote.

Last week’s Democratic convention in Denver was lined with A-list stars, including Steven Spielberg, Muhammad Ali, Kanye West, Ben Affleck, Jaimie Foxx and Jennifer Lopez.  Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, John Legend and will.i.am headlined a concert on the convention’s last day.

“You have to play the hand you’re dealt,” said Jonathan Wilcox, an adjunct professor at USC Annenberg School for Communication, who is an expert on politics and celebrity culture. “Maybe the Republicans would like to throw in three of their celebrities and get three more from the deck.”

Republican officials said they would not concede the battle of the stars to Democrats, especially since they claimed to have the real winners in their midst.

“Highlighting celebrities is not the primary focus of the Republican National Convention,” spokeswoman Melissa Subbotin said. “However, highlighting John McCain and his vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, is.”

Hoping to end the narrative that Barack Obama is celebrity without substance, Democrats downplayed the star wattage their convention drew last week.

“There were 84,000 to hear Obama speak” at Invesco Field, spokesman Damon Jones said. “I think that speaks to the enthusiasm that he generates and how his message resonates. I think it’s much broader than
one or two folks.”

It’s no secret that Hollywood support for Democrats has long surpassed Republicans by a wide margin. But John McCain’s maverick image and moderate positions drew significant support from Hollywood in 2000. During the primaries, McCain quietly reached out to Hollywood, headlining a fundraiser at the home of MGM Chairman and CEO Harry Sloan.

But McCain may have alienated the Hollywood community when he attacked Obama in an ad for being an empty celebrity, comparing him to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

Wilcox said any celebrity that was offended by the ad was probably an Obama supporter already.

He added that Republicans aren’t interested in using the quality or quantity of stars as weapons in the celebrity wars.

“They want to get into a contest of what is novel,” he said. “Jon Voight represents the type of celebrity they are looking for, which is somebody who was a liberal and who has in his words, slowly, inexorably, come to the Republican side based on his personal observations.”

Asked if it was surprising that Democrats appeared to draw bigger star power at their convention, Wilcox said, “It was the least surprising development of a surprising campaign season.”

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ST. PAUL — For most voters, immigration reform has taken a backseat to the economy and the war in Iraq.

But the controversial issue could re-emerge in the fall as John McCain and Barack Obama court Hispanic voters, who could make the difference in battleground states such as Nevada, New Mexico, Florida and Colorado, where many of Latino voters are concentrated.

McCain vowed this summer that if elected he would prioritize reforming immigration laws to include a pathway to citizenship for illegal residents.

As senator, his immigration reform efforts failed last year when Congress shot down a comprehensive bill he co-sponsored that included a guest worker program. After that, McCain narrowed his position, saying the U.S. must secure its borders before changing the system.

Immigration reform represents a political landmine for Republicans who want to appeal to Hispanics, an increasingly powerful electorate, and hold on to its base supporters, many whose position against illegal immigration is viewed by Hispanics as discriminatory.

Historically, Hispanic voters, with the exception of Cubans in Florida, have favored Democrats to Republicans, by as much as 70 percent to 30 percent.

But in 2004, Bush won record support from Hispanics at 40 percent, up from 34 percent in 2000, according to exit polls. That carried him to victory in those same four battleground states that figure to play a prominent role this election year.

FOX News political analyst Juan Williams said if McCain can attract 45 percent of the Hispanic vote, that might be enough for him to win the White House.

“Just that small increment can make a key difference if you’re thinking about some of the important swing states,” he said.

Some GOP delegates say McCain can draw that percentage.

“He will do as well as George W. Bush and perhaps even better,” said Roxanne Rivera, spokeswoman for the Republican Party of New Mexico.

McCain’s proposal to offer an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants a path to citizenship last year helped nearly knock him out of the presidential primaries last summer. But McCain’s shift in position helped him win back staunch Republicans.

Some GOP delegates say McCain’s position is still unpopular among the base.

“There is virtually no difference between McCain’s plan and (Barack) Obama’s. They basically support the Chamber of Commerce’s plan, which is a pathway to citizenship,” said Montana Republican Party Chairman Erik Iverson.

At the same time, Iverson acknowledged that immigration is not in the forefront of voters’ minds.

Still others say McCain’s shift toward border security during the primaries won’t hurt his popularity with Hispanics.

“It’s logical that we have to secure the border and enforce the law,” Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer said. “No matter the solution, you have to do those things.”

Greer said McCain’s strongest appeal to Hispanic voters is his willingness to engage them on the issue.

“I think Senator McCain has been very good on his position that everyone who has a stake in the issue has a seat at the table,” he said.

McCain adviser and Republican strategist Robert Uithoven, who is based in Nevada, said McCain shifted his position in response to the wishes of the people who elected him.

Voters don’t believe the federal government can handle both immigration reform and securing the border, Uithoven said.

“The federal government has proven their inability to do either one alone,” he said. McCain understands that “we have to build that trust up. Let’s get the border secured first.”

Williams said McCain will use his record on immigration to reach out to Hispanics in the general election because the Republican base has been energized by his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

“I think what you’re going to see is reminders of who stood with them in a very dark hour on Capitol Hill, who put himself at politcal risk in order to stand up for immigration reform,” he said.